The Electronic product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) was created by the Green Electronics Council. This newly launched standard encourages manufacturers to design products that us less energy and can be harmlessly recycled. 
The EPA estimates that in the next five years, purchases of EPEAT-registered computers could reduce hazardous waste by 4 million pounds and save enough energy to power 2 million homes. This is very exciting news. $250 billion is spent per year on powering computers worldwide – 85% of that power is wasted while the computer simply idles. This is something to think about when we leave our computer on when not in use. If you don’t want to worry about remembering to turn off your computer, a new “smart’ power strip will be available. It automatically senses when your computer is not in use and shuts it down.
Cell phone manufacturers are also jumping on the bandwagon. If you charge your phone overnight, you are wasting a lot of energy. Nokia is preparing to introduce “unplug alerts” for their units. They will cause fully charged phones to beep and display an alert to unplug the phone. Just this one simple advancement in technology could save enough electricity to power 85,000 homes annually. Pretty amazing statistics.
Solar chargers are also going to be a great alternative for cell phones, Ipods, and laptops. Motorola is working on a phone that always remains charged – no plugs, no cords.
As these companies are designing electronics with “green” technology, it will be interesting to see what the future brings.

